We normally object when a legislator quits in midterm for no good reason.

However, Dillard had a good reason.

He has accepted the chairmanship of the Chicago area’s Regional Transportation Authority, which provides financial oversight for the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra commuter rail and Pace bus service.

Dillard, 59, is best known for his strong showings as a candidate for the Republican nomination for governor during the past two election cycles.

In 2010, Dillard lost the primary by only a few thousand votes to state Sen. Bill Brady, who went on to lose to Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn.

This past March, Dillard put up a strong fight against businessman Bruce Rauner before falling short in the GOP primary.

Dillard already has ideas for improving mass transportation in Chicagoland.

For example, he wants to establish one “seamless” system of payment for all riders, so that they don’t have to pay to access different parts of the transit system in different ways.

We encourage Dillard to consider ideas from other sources, such as the authors of “Fixing Illinois: Politics and Policy in the Prairie State,” which was published in May.